Lawless Entertainment July 2016 | Page 17

"The Shallows" Page | 17 Imagine being stuck a mere 200 yards from shore as a huge great white shark stalks you? Yeah, picture that....that's the premise behind this intense thriller as director Jaume Collet-Serra takes a relatively simple premise and turns it on a hour and twenty-seven minute thrill ride. The cast is led by the fantastic Blake Lively who spends the majority of the film stuck on a small rock island in the shallows as the viscous shark stalks her. The suspense that's built up throughout the course of this cat and mouse game definitely delivers with some chilling moments. On a few occasions the crowd I was viewing the film with jumped during some perfectly placed 'jump scares'. The shark looks amazing and has the perfect blend of realism and CGI and is a character within itself with the way it's actions play out on screen. Made for a modest 17 million I expect 'The Shallows' to be one of 2016's sleeper hits as I must say this is one of the best shark films I've seen since the original Jaws. I'll give this one a solid 8.5 out of 10 and would definitely recommend it. - Tavares Wilson i